Side Effects (2013)

Side Effects Synopsis

Side Effects is a provocative thriller about Emily and Martin (Rooney Mara and Channing Tatum), a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist (Jude Law), intended to treat anxiety, has unexpected side effects.

With so many titles to choose from, Netflix Instant's library can be overwhelming. So we offer this biweekly column as a tool to cut through the clutter by highlighting some now streaming titles that pair nicely with the latest theatrical releases.

As the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock had many tools in his filmmaking belt, but perhaps one of his greatest was his ability to craft empathetic lead characters who are as caught up in the mystery as the audience. And it’s no conincidence that similar themes appear in Scott Z. Burns’ new film Side Effects.

I guess my point is that those trying to summarize Soderbergh’s career as they look back on it will realize it’s uncategorizable. Outside of the Ocean’s franchise, which came off as excuses to play games with friends, the unpredictable director flowed to the currents that moved him as a storyteller.

The world of psychopharmacology is a tricky one to navigate, and one that Jude Law got first-hand experience with playing Dr. Jonathan Banks in Steven Soderbergh’s Side Effects. In the story, the character not only faces accusations of moral misdoings when it comes to treating his patients – facing serious questions after use of a drug he prescribed leads to a violent episode – but is even shown to be a user himself.

Super Bowl Sunday. The greatest day of the year. The beer’s on ice, the appetizers are in the oven, I’ve got my requisite prop bets in on things like “first touchdown” and “how much karaoke Beyonce will do at halftime.” Going to be a great day, but before we get to that there’s a couple of flicks to check out. We’re looking at the side effects of identity thieves

This week on Operation Kino, we're jumping ahead a week in the release calendar to review Steven Soderbergh's final theatrical film, Side Effects. From there we use the occasion of our 99th episode to look back at the show and what we've learned from it, including how to talk to people who disagree with you

Side Effects is a movie by Steven Soderbergh, so you can pretty much guarantee it's not going to look like you're average off-the-rack thriller. But it's also a twisty and sometimes even scary thriller, the kind of thing that you really can sell to any audience, even if it requires masking some of the weird quirks that make it distinctly Soderbergh's

In Side Effects, Rooney Mara stars as Emily Taylor, a graphic designer who is struggling with depression after her husband (Channing Tatum) is released from prison following a conviction for insider trading. In the clip above, the pair attempts to re-enter the high-flying social circles they were once well accustomed to, essentially attempting to fake it until they make it once more. However, we know from the newly unveiled international trailer dark times lie ahead.

Several repeat Soderbergh “offenders” are contributing here, from Jude Law and Channing Tatum to Catherine Zeta Jones. It’s all funneling through Rooney Mara, though, playing a woman who agrees to try a revolutionary new prescription drug that boasts terrifying side effects.

In 2012, Channing Tatum demonstrated his romantic and dramatic side with The Vow, his humorous side with 21 Jump Street and his sexy side with Magic Mike. What will he have to show us in 2013? The first new film to feature Tatum in the new year is Side Effects, which arrives in theaters next month and has him playing husband to Rooney Mara's character, a woman who's prescribed a drug from her psychiatrist, which proves to have some unexpected side effects.

Rooney Mara plays a woman treated for emotional imbalances by a pioneering psychiatrist (Jude Law). But legal complications arise when the pill prescribed by the doc create, as the title suggests, unexpected (and violent) side effects.

The last poster we saw for Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects was pretty great. Below a haunting image of Rooney Mara, half of the one-sheet was dedicated to looking like a fake prescription pad that gave all of the details and credits about the movie. It was a cool design for what looks to be a thrilling movie. The latest artwork, however, isn't nearly as interesting.

Of the many, many titles set to be released in 2013, there are fewer that I'm cheering harder for than Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects. After a long, stunning career, the Oscar winning filmmaker is getting set to retire and the drug drama, starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law, and Channing Tatum, is set to be his final theatrical release.

With stock images of happy people and the motto "Take Back Tomorrow" prominently displayed around it's commercial, TryAblixa.com seems like your average prescription medication site…until you notice Jude Law staring at you beneath an offer for a free evaluation. Click the link and a virtual session begins where Law—as Dr. Jonathan Banks M.D.—asks you questions to determine if you are depressed and in need of the wonder drug.

He was reluctant to drop details about the plot, though he teases that the exploration of how character is altered by the drugs, and describes he and Soderbergh's efforts as "sort of in the tradition of a Hitchcock mindf-ck."

Steven Soderbergh still swears he's heading into retirement, with the HBO Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra set to air next year, starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. But first there's what will hopefully not actually be his final theatrically release film, Side Effects, which debuted its first trailer online today

She’ll play Law’s wife in Soderbergh’s film, which casts the Contagion co-star as a doctor who strikes up a strange relationship with a troubled patient (Mara) who is ingesting disturbing levels of prescription drugs. The reason for her abuse? She’s extremely anxious about the pending release of her husband (Tatum) from prison.

Written by Scott Z. Burns, who previously worked with Soderbergh on Contagion and The Informant!, Bitter Pill tells the story of a woman (Mara) who is dealing with an incredible amount of stress due to her husband (Tatum) being released from prison. She begins to take prescription pills to handle, however, it leads her down a dark path.

Mara “just committed” to join Effects, which was written by Soderbergh’s frequent collaborator Scott Z. Burns (Contagion, The Informant!). She’ll play Emily Hawkins, an unstable young woman addicted to prescription drugs who’s trying to cope with her husband’s recent release from prison. Without getting into too many spoilers (and the Deadline piece gives away more than it should, in my opinion), the film takes a violent turn, and could turn into a courtroom thriller

Apparently this isn't the first time that this project has run into casting vs. financing issues. Reports say that both Summit and Paramount - who were interested in the film prior to Annapurna stepping up - also had to negotiate with Soderbergh to try and find the right star. Variety says that a new financier could bring about a complete cast shake-up. The movie is still on track to start production in New York this April.

When Steven Soderbergh's Traffic came out in 2000, Catherine Zeta-Jones was at the top of her game. She was one of the biggest actresses in Hollywood and only two years away from her first Oscar. In the years since, however, Zeta-Jones hasn't been around nearly as much. She hasn't appeared in a feature film since 2009's The Rebound, but now she's starting to make her comeback.

The Oscar-winning filmmaker will reteam with Scott Z. Burns (The Informant!, Contagion) for a thriller titled The Bitter Pill. As with most of Soderbergh’s projects, details are being kept under wraps for the time being, though THR hints that the story will be set “in the world of psychopharmacology” (whatever that could possibly mean).

Scott Z. Burns is an extremely busy guy these days. Having just finished this his third collaboration with Steven Soderbergh (he previously wrote The Informant for him as well as providing some touchups on the Ocean’s 12 script), Burns has also written 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.